Page 21 - La Naturaleza como inspiración

One of the most important national entries at the Floriade is that from Spain. When the Lim- burgs Museum was asked by Acción Cultural Es- pañola within the context of the Floriade to provide assistance for an exhibition of the collection of Jo- hannes le Francq van Berkhey (1729-1812), there was no hesitation. This originally Dutch collection, which was acquired by the Spanish Crown in 1785, is one of the world’s most important collections of picture material covering botany and zoology. The prints are of such high quality that they are impor- tant not only for biological research, but they also show the art-historical significance of these draw- ings and etchings from the 17th up to the 18th cen-
tury. The collection has for a long time been cared for in excellent fashion by the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales and the Real Jardín Botánico. The assistance of those institutions also made it possible to display works from the collection of Le Francq van Berkhey in the Netherlands again. Be- sides an exhibition of flower drawings in the Mu- seum Naturalis in Leiden, a more extensive selec- tion of prints depicting plants and animals will be presented in the Limburgs Museum in Venlo dur- ing the closing period of the Floriade. With it, one of the loveliest contributions to the Floriade has been kept back for a surprising and splendid final chord.
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